Sunday, January 13, 2008

How hard do you push? (No sex jokes here)

Most of you will be disappointed to learn that -- in terms of pushing hard -- I'm talking marketing, not sex. But I've been told that if you work the word sex into your blog items, your hits will increase dramatically. So I'm going to write the word sex into this item several times and see if my hits rise. Rise, get it? That's another sex reference. Let's just hope it doesn't cause my hits to shrink. (Sex, sex, sex.)

Here are my questions, in terms of marketing: Can you push too hard? Can you become so excited about what you're doing that it turns off the very people you're trying to turn on? For instance, do you as a potential reader become annoyed when you receive emails from publishers or authors regarding purchasing information and updates on their books? Has an email ever prompted you to buy a book? How about reading a blog? What if I told you that my series has sex in it? Would that prompt you to buy? Or not to buy?

The past several months, I have marketed my butt off -- though I mean that figuratively, because without a butt, having sex would be kind of weird.

Sex, sex, sex. Does sex sell? Will it increase the size of my hits counter?

2 comments:

*grin* I have no real answers for the marketing p.o.v. although generally speaking...a positive review on a blog I trust will encourage me to buy something, but a bunch of emails marketing a product will often turn me off of that product.

But the 'sex' remarks in this post did make me laugh, I have to admit!

Synopsis

The Death Wizard Chronicles is a sexy, action-packed six-book epic fantasy series: Book One (Forged by Death), Book Two (Chained by Fear), Book Three (Eve of War), Book Four (World on Fire), Book Five (Sun God), Book Six (Death-Know).

The DW Chronicles is not for children and teenagers -- or the faint of heart. But if you like graphic fantasy that is bursting with excitement yet still has a lot going on between the lines, I think you'll love my series.

In a groundbreaking paradox, the Death Wizard, a champion of good, derives his power from a source traditionally seen as negative -- death. His nemesis, an evil sorcerer, derives his power from the sun, the benevolent source of all life. Their struggle to control the fate of the planet Triken will take your breath away.

In an original twist never before seen in this genre, the Death Wizard is able to enter the realm of death during a "temporary suicide." Through intense concentration, he stops his heartbeat and feeds on death energy, which provides him with an array of magical powers.

The series also is a love triangle involving two desperate characters attempting to come together despite the machinations of an all-powerful psychopath with incestuous cravings.

Graphic and action-packed, spanning a millennium of turmoil, The DW Chronicles carries readers on a journey they will never forget.

Do you fear death? The Death Wizard does not. Find out why.

-- Please go to www.jim-melvin.com for more details.

About Me

I was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla. I graduated from the University of South Florida (Tampa) in 1979 with a B.A. in Journalism. I now live in South Carolina near the Blue Ridge Mountains, a pleasant setting for writing, to say the least. I was an award-winning journalist at the St. Petersburg Times for twenty-five years and I currently work at the Charlotte Observer. I am married with five daughters.